Adventures in Substituting!! Part 2

I have been assigned to the ESE class everyday since that first day. The students have gotten used to me, some like me, others not so much. I have been finding more and more work for them to do which is why some don't like me. They have been having a "free period" for a month or so now and don't want to work. It would probably be easier to let them just do what they want, but that is not helping anyone. They also tend to get a bit rowdy if you don't keep them busy. Monday was a good day, a lot of the kids were absent, and the ones that were there were quiet - I guess they were tuckered out from the weekend. On Tuesday of this week two of my students started arguing. It eventually came to both of them dropping their backpacks and putting up their fists. I was able to grab one by the arm and pull him away before the maylay began. I separated them (luckily I have a huge room) and they calmed down and I didn't have to call security. I told them that they all have the same classes everyday, and have to learn to get along. They don't have to like each other, but they do have to respect each other. When I got to school Wednesday, the schedule had been changed due to some testing. This meant that first block was going to be two blocks long. This was great for me as on even days I have first block free. I was able to come up with work for the rest of the day, and I thought, wow, this is going to be a great day! Well, first block wound up running 30 minutes later than previously thought, which means the next block was cut by 30 minutes, making it only 50 minutes long. Normally this would be a good thing, but the work I had planned was not something they could do in that amount of time. I had to cut the lesson down, and help them with the test, most of them still failed it. Lunch finally came and even though I had all that free time earlier in the day, I was ready for the break. After lunch, not 5 minutes into class, we had a fire drill - again, there go my lesson plans! Once we corralled the kids back into the classes, I finally got them settled into doing some work when the called for all Juniors to the gym. They were gone for about 30 minutes, then they called for the seniors. In the mean time, an announcement was made that the fire drill had been unacceptable and that it would have to be redone the next day. I finally gave up on the lesson plan and gave an open book test - finally they passed!! Today is "odd" day which is for some reason the rougher of the two. The combination of the kids is not a good one, and of course this morning we had the "make up" fire drill. So far the day has been pretty good. The usual students are being disruptive, but nothing out of the ordinary. I am on my planning period as I type, and there is only one more block after this, then tomorrow is a day off - teacher planning day and subs don't work. I was told this morning that I would be in the ESE until a new teacher is found. I heard they found someone, but she is still doing her internship and cannot start teaching until then. Maybe by Christmas!!